Will AI replace Veterinary Technologists and Technicians?
Most of the work in Veterinary Technologists and Technicians still leans on things AI struggles with — research rates its theoretical AI reach at only ~16%, and real-world use lower still.
O*NET-SOC 29-2056
How your 30 core tasks split
Top = what GPT-4 judged AI could speed up. Bottom = how much AI was actually used for these tasks (Anthropic's March 2026 report, usage from Aug & Nov 2025). The gap is the real story.
Back in 2023, GPT-4 judged AI could, in theory, assist with a relatively low share of this job's tasks (~16%). By late 2025, real-world AI use had reached about 0% of its task activity (still rare). The gap between that 2023 forecast and today is the real story.
Where this job sits among 738 jobs
Each dot is one of 738 U.S. jobs. Right = AI can do more of it. Up = AI is actually used more.
The signals here line up
Theoretical reach (~16%), real-world use (~0%) and the task-level picture mostly agree — so this read is more reliable than for jobs where the signals contradict each other. Even so, AI-risk estimates shift by model (a 2026 study saw the "high-risk" share swing 2.7%–51.5%), so treat these as directional, not destiny.
See all 30 tasks, ratedBased on real task-level AI scores — click to collapse
- Maintain controlled drug inventory and related log books.
- Perform a variety of office, clerical, or accounting duties, such as reception, billing, bookkeeping, or selling products.
- Perform laboratory tests on blood, urine, or feces, such as urinalyses or blood counts, to assist in the diagnosis and treatment of animal health problems.
- Take and develop diagnostic radiographs, using x-ray equipment.
- Maintain laboratory, research, or treatment records, as well as inventories of pharmaceuticals, equipment, or supplies.
- Schedule appointments and procedures for animals.
- Provide information or counseling regarding issues such as animal health care, behavior problems, or nutrition.
- Monitor medical supplies and place orders when inventory is low.
- Administer anesthesia to animals, under the direction of a veterinarian, and monitor animals' responses to anesthetics so that dosages can be adjusted.
- Care for and monitor the condition of animals recovering from surgery.
- Prepare and administer medications, vaccines, serums, or treatments, as prescribed by veterinarians.
- Restrain animals during exams or procedures.
- Administer emergency first aid, such as performing emergency resuscitation or other life saving procedures.
- Clean and sterilize instruments, equipment, or materials.
- Provide veterinarians with the correct equipment or instruments, as needed.
- Perform dental work, such as cleaning, polishing, or extracting teeth.
- Observe the behavior and condition of animals and monitor their clinical symptoms.
- Give enemas and perform catheterizations, ear flushes, intravenous feedings, or gavages.
- Fill prescriptions, measuring medications and labeling containers.
- Collect, prepare, and label samples for laboratory testing, culture, or microscopic examination.
- Prepare animals for surgery, performing such tasks as shaving surgical areas.
- Discuss medical health of pets with clients, such as post-operative status.
- Clean kennels, animal holding areas, surgery suites, examination rooms, or animal loading or unloading facilities to control the spread of disease.
- Take animals into treatment areas and assist with physical examinations by performing such duties as obtaining temperature, pulse, or respiration data.
- Prepare treatment rooms for surgery.
- Maintain instruments, equipment, or machinery to ensure proper working condition.
- Dress and suture wounds and apply splints or other protective devices.
- Provide assistance with animal euthanasia and the disposal of remains.
- Supervise or train veterinary students or other staff members.
- Bathe animals, clip nails or claws, and brush or cut animals' hair.
How we measured this — and how fresh it is
AI's theoretical reach data: 2023
From GPTs-are-GPTs (Eloundou et al.), where GPT-4 rated how much of each task an AI tool could meaningfully speed up. This is the most recent open, commercially-usable occupation-level potential dataset — it dates to 2023. Newer multi-model re-runs exist but swing wildly (one 2026 study saw "high-risk" jobs range 2.7%–51.5% by model) and aren't openly licensed, so we show the stable 2023 baseline and pair it with newer real-world data.
Real-world AI use 2026 report
From the Anthropic Economic Index, which observes how real Claude conversations map onto each occupation's tasks. Published in Anthropic's March 2026 labor-market report, based on usage measured in Aug & Nov 2025 (Sonnet 4 / 4.5).
Task list & ratings O*NET 30.3
Tasks come from O*NET 30.3. Each task's "AI can do / speeds up / still on you" tier uses the real task-level exposure scores from GPTs-are-GPTs (E1 / E2 / E0) — not a guess from keywords.
Sources: O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0) · GPTs-are-GPTs (MIT, 2023) · Anthropic Economic Index (CC BY, Aug & Nov 2025). Page compiled June 2026. "O*NET" is a trademark of the U.S. Department of Labor.
This page is for general informational purposes only and is not career, financial, or employment advice. AI exposure reflects research estimates of task overlap, not predictions about any individual's job, employer, or future employment.